This post was republished into its original place from my lost posts archive
Breaking the Code by Gyles Brandreth
I read this book just pre-blog back in summer 2008. Brandreth’s political diaries from 1990-1997 – the time that he was an MP (Tory, for Chester) were fascinating reading. They recount, with his customary wit, all the goings on in and out of the chamber, committee rooms and the Whips’ office. He was one of William Haig’s speech-writing buddies.
I enjoyed reading his diaries very much but have no desire to re-read them, so this book is going in the garage sale/charity shop box. But – before it finds another home, I wanted to share the most hilarious paragraph in it – I bookmarked it all those years ago. You need a small bit of background to put it into context…
Before becoming an MP, Brandreth was particularly noted for being one of the regular resident wits/brains in Dictionary Corner in the teatime C4 TV show Countdown. In these appearances, he usually wore novelty jumpers – and people used to send them in for him. The extract below is from 1993 during the time that the Maastricht Treaty to create the European Union from the EEC would come into force later that year, the Railways Act would later enable Major to privatise parts of British Rail …
Tuesday, 20th April
The Maastricht nightmare drags on – we finished at 1.13 a.m. yesterday. The Railways Bill drags on – Roger Freeman is a joy to watch, but I’ve falled between two stools. You can either (like Sproat) ignore the whole thing, site in a far corner of the committee room, reading correspondence, signing letters, or (like Stephen [Milligan]) you can get stuck in and follow the Bill line by line. I’ve been following it, but not with sufficient attention to detail to make either a worthwhile contribution or any impact. (My only ‘moment’ was when Prescott started muttering ‘Woolly jumper! Woolly jumper!’ while I was speaking. I came up with a reasonable riposte: ‘The advantages of a woolly jumper is that you can take it off at will. The disadvantage of a woolly mind is that you are lumbered with it for life’)
Photos of Brandreth wearing the ‘woolly jumpers’ are not so prevalent these days – but I did find this one – from the 1000th programme of Countdown with L-R Brandreth, Carol Vorderman, Richard Whiteley, Richard Stilgoe (another regular trying to outdo Brandreth in the jumper stakes here!)
Source: Own copy. To explore further on Amazon UK, (affiliate link), please click below:
Breaking The Code: Westminster Diaries
Breaking The Code: The Brandreth Diaries: Westminster Diaries, 1992-97
